Waterford man charged with inciting riot

Waterford – The man who police said organized an off-road motorcycle meet and urged participants through social media to drive through streets in New London and Waterford, was charged Monday with inciting a riot, among other charges, police said in a press release posted on the department's Facebook page.

Police said the arrest of Jon Collins stemmed from an investigation into an Oct. 27 incident involving off-road ATVs and motorcycles and came at a time when police were investigating the illegal operation of off-road vehicles on city streets.

Collins allegedly organized and was part of a group that drove from New London onto Waterford public streets. Along the way, police said a Waterford police officer got in a short pursuit with them before stopping the chase.

A group of six to eight people drove their vehicles onto the former Waterford Airport property, where one of them shoved a woman to the ground as they crossed her property to get to the airport, police said.

Collins was charged with inciting a riot, failure to obey the signal of an officer and operating an unregistered motor vehicle. He was released with a written promise to appear in court.